Constructed in the 19th century, Ballykealey House was built with love, arising from the marriage proposal of John James Lecky to Sarah Lucia Smith; today, it offers a picturesque and enchanting venue nestled in the Carlow countryside. On the 11th of May, 2024, Megan Keenaghan and Joseph McDonagh added their story to the venue's rich tapestry of love. Captured by Berit Alits Photography, this late-spring wedding is absolutely stunning!
"We met in Mullingar Golf Club, where I worked in the pro shop, and Joe used to play every Sunday (while usually suffering from a hangover!)." Years later, the pair have a beautiful baby boy together!
To throw Megan off his plans to propose, Joe concocted a plan, pretending that a meeting at work had gone poorly and coming home in a bad mood. He asked if she would join him on a walk to clear his head and that he’d bring Megan to Scragh Bog just outside Mullingar, where she had often talked about going. Megan was oblivious to the ring in his pocket until he asked if she wanted to venture down to a seating area with a view; then, she had an inkling. "We went down, and Joe’s whole demeanour changed. The bad mood I felt he was in had gone, and he was laughing. I started laughing and couldn’t stop from pure nerves. He asked what I was laughing at, and I said, "Oh, nothing. It’s silly." He laughed, pulled out a red box from his pocket, and got down on one knee. I thought it was a promise ring!?"
"At seven weeks pregnant, I picked my dress from The Whiteroom, along with my nearest and dearest. I wasn’t looking forward to dress shopping; I thought I’d have a hard time picking a dress, but on my fourth dress in, I knew it was the one, and I left a happy, happy girl." For his suit, Joe visited Galvins For Men in Mullingar with his sister Gillian and walked away with a grey blazer, black trousers and a matching waistcoat.
For her bridal party, Megan had two bridesmaids: her childhood best friend, Naoise and bestie of seven years, Hazel. "I picked their dresses from Folkster and chose a floor-length burnt orange gown with flutter sleeves. I wanted something different from most traditional colours, and it tied in well with the rustic flower theme I was going for."
"My favourite part was walking up the aisle to Joe and Tadhg in his arms and my poor mum's reading. She did a reading from Winnie the Pooh that was a total tongue-twister. She did so well, but Joe and I couldn’t stop laughing."
Megan heard about Ballykealey House while working at the golf club. She googled it, and it ticked all the boxes. "We went to view it in June 2022 and fell in love. I hadn’t planned on booking anything that day, but after seeing it, I knew nowhere else would top it. I particularly loved the barn where we had our ceremony and the foundation area where we had our drinks reception."
The couple hired Electric Circus, a five-piece band, for their reception music. "I had seen them at my friend's wedding early in 2022. They packed the dance floor all night, and I knew I wanted to book them." Then, to add an extra bit of excitement to the day, the pair hired a hypnotist for entertainment! "A relatively last-minute decision was booking a wedding hypnotist. I had heard of someone at work doing it at their wedding and thought it was an amazing idea. We contacted Jason O Callaghan, and he thankfully had our date available. It filled that lull from dinner to when the band started."
Regarding the best decision, Megan said, "There are two things I’m so glad we did. The first was booking Aisling from Wedding Nannies; she took care of us, at the time, a 15-week-old baby boy. She was incredible from the moment she walked in, and we honestly would not have enjoyed the day half as much if it hadn’t been for her. We couldn’t recommend her enough. The second was booking Berit Alits, our photographer. We had originally booked different photographers, and roughly a year before the wedding, I spotted Berit's work on the Ballykealey Instagram and fell in love with her photography style. I contacted her, and she was still available; she’s so talented, and we’re so glad we chose her."
Regarding the worst decision, Megan said, "The worst decision was not making Joe wear his glasses; he stood on my veil all day long!"
- Gráinne